Growing Returns

Water filters can fight dead zones without hindering farm production

By Eileen McLellan / Published: August 15, 2014

Updated (October 23, 2014): Interior, Agriculture Departments Partner to Measure Conservation Impacts on Water Quality

A treatment wetland built under the Iowa Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program. Photo from Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship

“Is the water safe?”

In the United States, we take it for granted that the answer to that question is “yes.” But the residents of Toledo, OH, learned recently that their water wasn’t safe to drink for a few days because toxins associated with an algal bloom in Lake Erie had contaminated the city’s water supply. Meanwhile, a Maryland man was released from the hospital after nearly losing his leg and his life to flesh-eating bacteria contracted from swimming in the Chesapeake Bay.

These types of incidents are caused by nutrient pollution. Although nutrient pollution can come from many sources, runoff from agriculture is the dominant contributor to the problem in Lake Erie, the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Agriculture-associated nutrient pollution also impacts local streams and lakes, causing fish kills and closing swimming beaches. A recent study in Minnesota suggested that more than 70 percent of nitrogen in state waters comes from cropland.

What needs to be done, and how much will make a difference? Read More »

Posted in Agriculture, Coasts and Watersheds / Tagged Chesapeake Bay, dead zone, Gulf of Mexico, hypoxia, Interior department, Lake Erie, natural resources conservation, nutrient pollution, USDA, USGS, water quality, watershed, wetland buffer | Comments are closed

We can have food security and a healthy environment

By David Festa / Published: August 13, 2014

The way we produce food is getting a lot of attention these days, and for good reason. If current projections hold, we’ll have 9 billion mouths to feed by 2050 – 2 billion more than we have today.

Throughout history, when we’ve needed to expand food production, we’ve gone to nature’s vast storehouse and made withdrawals. In doing so, we’ve filled wetlands, dried up rivers, degraded habitat, and polluted our air and water.

We’ve already drawn down nature’s account to dangerously low levels, and we still need to produce more.

If we’re going to meet growing needs for food and water, we’re going to have to do it in ways that not only stop harming the environment, but actually improve the ecosystems that serve us. Business as usual just isn’t going to cut it.

Farmers lead the way

During the past decade, we’ve been in quiet conversations with farmers and ranchers about how to facilitate this transformation. As we’ve walked their land, we’ve seen some encouraging things. Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged farmers, food security, golden cheeked warbler, irrigation, ranchers, water, water use, Woolf Family Farms | Read 1 Response

Lake Erie’s fertilizer problem isn’t over, but we’re working on it

By Karen Chapman / Published: August 6, 2014

Fertilizer is the engine of agriculture, but its inefficient use means that excess fertilizer ends up in our waterways, contaminating freshwater supplies and causing algae blooms, such as those that recently cut off water supplies to hundreds of thousands of residents in Toledo, OH. In addition to impacts on communities, algae blooms also affect ecosystems, killing millions of fish and harming the seafood and recreation industries.

Nutrient runoff from fertilizer is a problem that many stakeholders, including farmers, have been trying to fix for many years, both in the Western Lake Erie Basin and beyond. The efforts to date have had a real impact, but that impact has not been nearly enough to solve the problem of dangerous and costly dead zones.

We need to do much more at a much larger scale, while also increasing productivity to feed a growing population.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged Adapt Network, fertilizer runoff, General Mills, Lake Erie, Ohio, Toledo, toxic algae, Walmart, water contamination, water quality | Comments are closed

New USDA roadmap a breakthrough for farmers and climate mitigation

By Robert Parkhurst / Published: July 31, 2014

woman The U.S. Department of Agriculture just published an important roadmap for America’s farmers and ranchers to measure their greenhouse gas emissions and evaluate opportunities for reducing them.

Previously, insufficient data and lack of scientific consensus have impeded natural resource stewards from calculating GHG fluxes from management practices – especially since biological systems are dynamic and complex. But the new Gree nhouse Gas Report provides thorough guidelines for understanding how different management practices influence GHG emissions on farms, ranches and forests.

This is a major breakthrough in mitigating the impacts of climate change on working lands. By helping landowners better understand their impacts, farmers, ranchers and forest owners will be better equipped to calculate their emissions and account for these impacts through voluntary participation in GHG mitigation or carbon sequestration projects across the country.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged carbon sequestration, GHG mitigation, USDA | Comments are closed

The Colorado River Basin can’t afford to leave farmers out to dry

By Aaron Citron / Published: July 24, 2014

On Colorado River Day, it’s worth considering how we can write the next chapter in the water story of the American West.

With the recent news that Lake Mead is at its lowest level in history, it’s impossible to ignore the trajectory of America’s hardest-working river. In the Colorado River Basin, we are already using more water annually than is being supplied by snowpack and other precipitation. The Bureau of Reclamation and others predict that this gap in water supply and demand will increase to nearly 4 million acre-feet by 2060, with significant shortages possible as early as 2017.

It has become clear that, over time, our water uses are going to have to change. In thinking about where – in what sectors – this change should take place, we must also consider the environmental, cultural and economic services that each sector provides.

Posted in Water / Tagged agriculture, colorado river, colorado river day, denver water, drought, irrigation, irrigation efficiency, water use | Comments are closed

We don’t have to pit wildlife against the economy

By David Festa / Published: July 14, 2014

Greater sage grouse. Photo credit: Steven Nehl

This post was co-written by Terry Fankhauser, executive vice president of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association and executive director of Partners for Western Conservation.

Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: A rancher, an environmentalist, and an oil company exec walk into a bar. The bartender looks up and asks, “Is this a joke?”

On the surface we may seem like an odd group, but ranchers, energy companies and environmentalists are finding each other willing partners in solving big conservation problems.

Colorado is one of 11 Western states where an iconic rangeland bird, the greater sage grouse, nests in high desert topography that’s also perfect ground for cattle ranching. And in recent years, Colorado’s booming oil and gas industry has encroached on the bird’s habitat.

That puts the bird’s future on a collision course with the state’s two largest economic drivers: agriculture and energy. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service faces a 2015 deadline to decide if the greater sage grouse should be protected by an Endangered Species Act listing. Listing could severely crimp both energy production and ranching across a vast territory.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged agriculture, Colorado Cattlemen's Association, energy, greater sage-grouse, habitat exchange, mitigation banking, Partnerships, ranching, rangeland, sage grouse, Terry Fankhauser, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service | Comments are closed

Reducing risks to corn production requires a supply chain solution

By Suzy Friedman / Published: July 14, 2014

Photo: © John Rae

Corn is our country’s biggest crop economically and takes up nearly one-third of U.S. cropland. It is a pillar of our food production system – a key ingredient in everything from drinks, sauces and snack foods to dairy products, fuel and meat.

So when news about corn’s risky future pops up, we should all take note, and the entire agricultural supply chain should work toward solutions.

Water & Climate Risks Facing U.S. Corn Production, produced by the nonprofit sustainability advocate Ceres, is the latest analysis to sound the warning bell.

Last year U.S. corn growers harvested a record 14 billion bushels of corn, making them among the most productive farmers in the world (this year’s harvest is expected to be huge as well). But climate change and groundwater depletion are threatening to undermine corn’s success as global demand increases. Inefficient fertilizer use is compounding the problem.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged agriculture, Ceres, Climate, commodity crops, corn, drought, Field to Market, grains, Smithfield, supply chain, Walmart | Comments are closed

Climate change a risky business for America’s agriculture

By Rebecca Shaw / Published: June 30, 2014

Economists estimate that Texas’ continuing drought has cost farmers up to $8 billion so far. [ScottOlsson/Getty]

Nobody escapes climate change, especially not farmers.

The report released this week by a group of prominent and politically diverse business leaders and public officials stood out, in part, because of the alarming losses it forecasts for America’s agricultural industry.

This matters to all of us, because commodity agriculture is big business in the United States, putting food on our plates every single day.

Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged climate change, climate report, cover crops, crop yields, drought, farms, food production, no-till, rebecca shaw, riparian buffer, risky business, wetland buffer | Comments are closed

The new fall crop for rice farmers: carbon offsets

By Robert Parkhurst / Published: June 23, 2014

rice-300x2001 This September, a new crop will be made available to rice producers: carbon offsets.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) took another important step forward last week when it published the latest draft standard for the development of carbon offsets. The standard lays out the steps a producer needs to take in order to sell his new crop. Once it is approved, producers will be able grow and sell it as a new revenue stream.

So how does this work?

Rice fields are flooded as a part of growing this worldwide staple. It’s necessary for its growth. However, when water comes in contact with organic matter, the organic matter decomposes, generating methane – a strong greenhouse gas. By reducing the amount of methane generated through rice cultivation, a farmer can generate a carbon credit that can be sold to companies to offset their carbon emissions.

What are the practices that produce credits? Read More »

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged AB32, CARB, methane, rice | Comments are closed

Fertilizer-efficiency credits seed the market for agricultural offsets

By Robert Parkhurst / Published: June 18, 2014

tractor Fertilizer use is key to increasing the productivity necessary for farms to feed rising populations. However, not using the right amount in the right place at the right time is one of the biggest threats to a stable climate. Nitrogen fertilizer not used by crops emits nitrous oxide, a heat-trapping gas 300 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. It also contaminates water supplies, causes algae blooms downstream and erodes soil health.

So, it was welcome news last week when the first greenhouse gas credits for fertilizer efficiency made their debut in the North American carbon market.

Posted in Agriculture / Tagged AB 32, agriculture, American Carbon Registry, Carbon Offsets, Climate, Michigan State University, nitrogen, Scientific American | Comments are closed